By Stefan Coerts

The Brazilian defender is not giving up hopes of securing a top-three finish this season, and has hailed Fredy Guarin's recent performances

Juan Jesus has insisted that Inter are still in the race for the Champions League places and added that the Nerazzurri never give up.

The Giuseppe Meazza side currently sit fourth in the Serie A table with 39 points from 21 games, trailing leaders Juventus by nine points, but only four points off joint-second-placed Lazio and Napoli.

"We're still in there, just four points off Napoli and Lazio. We need to win and stay close to them," the defender told Sportmediaset.

"How far can we go? I never give up. We still have all to play for. If we string a few wins together, we can do it."

The Brazilian defender then went on to praise Fredy Guarin following his good performances in recent weeks.

"He's a great player and a great man. We joined Inter at the same time. At the start he didn't play much, but we were always together because we basically speak the same language.

"I hope we can both stay here as long as possible so the team can keep improving."